First let me tell you how I found this record. Randy Seaver has a blog where he has been tracking  additions to FamilySearch Full-Text Search. In this post from January one he mentions that the largest collection is United States, New York, Migrations, from 1901 to 2013″. I have been looking for the naturalization of my gr-gr-grandfather John Nicholson for about 40 years. I’m sure I found him but not in the county that I suspected.

John Nicholson was born about 1807 in the north of England (maybe Carlisle as suggested by some relatives). There are a few possibilities of him on early passenger records. He married Mary Royce about 1844 in Allegany County, NY. The growing family is in the 1850 census in Belfast, Allegany County but my great-grandfather, Frank Nicholson, always said he was born in 1847 in Elmira, Chemung County.

I might not have searched this collection of “migration records” if I had noticed that they supposedly start in 1901. But, in fact, they have records much earlier than the description says.

I found a Declaration of Intent for John Nicholson in Steuben County court records that says it was a copy of the D. of I. that was originally filed in Allegany County on Sept. 28,1840. Then also in Steuben Co. court records was a naturalization dated Nov. 1, 1844.

I wasn’t 100% sure it was my John Nicholson until I compared signatures. I have a letter that John wrote in Feb. 1863 to his wife’s family. I know he wrote it because in the letter he writes about “Mary and me.” That’s the signature from the letter with the yellow background.

Then the naturalization is signed in two places (gray background). Notice the capital “N” on the bottom signature and then a broad stroke over the “i.” I would say that 99% the naturalization is for my John Nicholson.

I was hoping that naturalization would mention when he came to the US as I have a few possibilities in the early passenger records. No mention of when he came to America at all. Still a good record to find to start off 2025.